Our first lady, Michelle Obama, covers this week’s issue of Parade Magazine, which will be out on Sunday. FLOTUS gave Parade an exclusive interview about her family, her hair, her Let’s Move initiative, turning 50 and whether she considers herself a “single mother” in the White House. It’s a decent interview:

On why she no longer sports the bangs that caused such a sensation.
You know, it’s hard to make speeches with hair in your face!

On why she chose a leadership role on the issue of childhood obesity in America.
When we started, there were people who were thinking, ‘Oh, that’s not an issue. Why is she picking that?’ But in a short amount of time we have turned a challenging problem into one where there are glimmers of hope and change. Our goal is to see the numbers reduced in a generation.

On thinking about where Malia will go to college.
You know, I am really trying to tone that way down. Because kids are under unreasonable pressure, and it can destroy a high school experience.

On the rules she has set for the Obama daughters as they grow older.
I give them as long a leash as they can handle. What I tell my kids is, I’m preparing you for college and for life. So, having independence, knowing how to set your own boundaries, figuring out how to make that balance. We still have screen time rules.

On whether her recent description of herself as “a single mother” was an acknowledgement of the pressure that comes with always making the decisions about her kids.
That’s absolutely right. When you have a husband or a partner who’s either traveling for work or has huge responsibility … and I give my husband credit—he knows who their friends are, he knows what their schedule is. But he’s not making the calls to the dance studio to figure out what classes they’re taking next year … I think it’s important for both parents to shoulder that [responsibility]. I tell my kids, “I am thinking about you every other minute of my day.”

On the approach of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.
I have immense hope. We just finished our visit to Africa and spent time on Robben Island with one of President Mandela’s cell-block mates. Mandela took a lot of the lessons from Dr. King’s time to heart … To come back to the United States, with an African-American president who has been influenced by both King and Mandela, that is a reason to be hopeful about all that Dr. King sacrificed.

On whether she thinks having an African-American family in the White House has moved the needle.
Absolutely. Children born in the last eight years will only know an African-American man being president of the United States. That changes the bar for all of our children, regardless of their race, their sexual orientation, their gender. It expands the scope of opportunity in their minds. And that’s where change happens.

On whether there will be a female president in her lifetime.
Yes, I think the country is ready for it. It’s just a question of who’s the best person out there.

On whether she sees Secretary Clinton getting the job.
She hasn’t announced anything, so I’m certainly not going to get ahead of her. [laughs]

On whether she will ever run.
No.

On her thoughts about turning 50 in January.
I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman. But I am constantly thinking about my own health and making sure that I’m eating right and getting exercise and watching the aches and pains. I want to be this really fly 80-, 90-year old.

I like how matter-of-fact Michelle is about not running for political office. I remember when Hillary Clinton would deny those stories when she was first lady too, only you knew Hillary was lying and she always wanted to run for office. I get the feeling that Michelle really doesn’t want to at all. She doesn’t want to be a public person. And I’m so glad she growing out her bangs! That was just a terrible look for her.

By the way, did you hear about the report in which it seems like Michelle’s Let’s Move initiative is actually working in many states? Michelle’s signature issue – exercise and healthy eating for kids – is actually making a difference. Obesity rates among children have dropped significantly in 19 states for the first time in decades, according to the CDC. You can read more about it here.

+1. Michelle looks beautiful and I loved what she said about not pressuring her daughters about college and letting them enjoy high school. Regardless of my disappointment with Obama as a president, I really adore the Obamas as a family.

It made me feel a bit guilty! I have a super smart nephew that is going into high school and I usually talk with him about his aims for college. Her comment made me pause and realize I should probably hold off a bit. I am just so excited for him and his abilities!

I love Michelle, too. As for the college comment, she doesn’t have to pressure her kids about college – no college in its right mind will turn them down. It’s not a secret that even when kids of powerful people are not intelligent, they still get into the best schools. Worrying about colleges is for us peons.

She is great, although I liked Hilary better. Healthcare was/is a more important subject. Hope she will become president in 2016.
It is so fascinating how much exposure the First Family gets, it’s like The Us has its own version of royalty.
In my country no one cares about the politicians personal life.
Oh, and I loved the bangs.

They were. They were bred to hunt, but also to be a good family dog. They’re big on people. We won’t be hunting with her – we don’t eat any fowl other than chicken, so I’m not going to go hunting just to hunt. I think I’m going to try to get her into retrieving dummys, and some frisbee, or agility to keep her stimulated since they’re super active.

Congratulations! We brought home our new baby girl, Piper, last week. She’s an 11 week old lab. So far, I’ve lost a flip flop, 3 of my son’s air filled balls (like you find in a ball pit) the side of a chair leg, and the corner of the coffee table to puppy teeth-and that’s with “supervision.” Our last dog, Dapper Dan, was an Aussie rescue and I got him when he was 3 (he was 14 when we sent him to play at the Rainbow Bridge), so it’s been a long time since I had a puppy to train.

Aww, my parents own a lab mix named Piper! She’s hugggeee but such a sweetie. When she was young she ate a set of my DVDs, part of our fridge, the cabinets got gnawed down, as well as anything else that was left within her reach. She only will destroy the occasional paper bag or flyer now.

What I like about her is that she’s trying to bring up CHILDREN but also looking to develop ADULTS. It’s a tricky balance at the best of times but when you’re FLOTUS (love that!) it must be nigh on impossible.

glad to hear flotus has no political aspirations _ i bet she misses her privacy.
this isn` the first time flotus has referred to herself as a single, and discussed how she and the girls live a good deal of their lives apart from potus. imo their marriage is not a happy one, and it wouldn`t surprise me if they divorced when he`s out of office.

If Laura and Dubya could work their significant issues out, so can the Obamas. I think they take their roles as role models very seriously and would sacrifice a lot in order to keep their family (and even an illusion of happiness) alive. Fake it until you make it.

The Pres is very busy but they have dinner as a family when he is in the WH. It is not ideal but they seem strong and commited. I bet when the girls are in college and mom and dad are out of the WH they are going to vacation a lot and reconnect. I sense a lot of passion still there. Call me crazy.

I appreciate her trying to relate, but as someone who used to be a single mom, I don’t think she can fully relate to it because there are other things involved. For example, financial problems and stigma are among the most difficult things about being a single mom, and without that experience, all the compassion in the world won’t make someone fully understand what it’s like.

i agree but she feels like a single mom in that she makes singular decisions, of course from a more privileged perspective but she is still making those decisions and doing those actions primarily alone. she is not belittling the issue but acknowledging her experience.

Its such a slap in the face & so disrespectful to her husband and all single mothers for her to even begin to think she is anything like a single mom. No single mom i know has a husband and an entire full time staff to watch their kids, a full time chef, personal stylist, etc. She is full of herself.

I disagree, and I am a single mother. It can feel really frightening to make all of the decisions on my own, and I can totally understand what she’s saying about that. I thought I was going to be irritated with her when I heard about this, but I do imagine with a husband who is that busy and unavailable, she is experiencing many of the same issues as I do. I actually feel quite respected and acknowledged, knowing that MO would align herself with me rather than shy away from the label that has for a long time had such a negative connotation. I’m not a “fan” or anything, I should add, I just happen to appreciate this particular statement from her.

I like her generally, but I think for this privileged, married woman with a secure financial future, a husband who loves her and their children and a staff of dozens to compare herself to a single mother simply because she has a busy husband is insensitive and ridiculous. Many single mothers have to bear all of the emotional, financial and practical burdens of motherhood alone, and I have never been in that position, but I would imagine that it can be much more lonely and fraught with anxiety than anything she has experienced because Barack isn’t arranging the dance lessons.

I am a single mother and I was prepared to hate, but she is spot on. There are many women who don’t have to bear the brunt of the finances, but are still single mothers (ex. rapper baby mamas). Anytime that one parent is almost exclusively raising the children, or the parents make separate decisions on a day to day basis, they are a single parent.

Single parent, however, is different from ONLY parent, which sadly, a lot of women are. They bear the enitre financial responsibility in addition to raising the kids alone. I’m pretty much an only parent, except for the fact that I facilitate the relationship b/t my daughter and her father. They love each other, and that’s about the extent of his involvement. He likes to think he makes some decision but until he starts paying me, he doesnt.

I’m not hating either. I grew up with married parents but Dad was in the military and wasn’t home much. I could definitely characterize Mom as a single mother in those days because she was alone and did everything.

@Naye
Your points are well made, and I see your distinction between a single parent and an only parent, and think it is important, but I still disagree that she is the equivalent of a single mother. She has a loving, committed relationship with the children’s father to fall back on in a crisis. She may be making minor, practical decisions on her own, but if something serious came up, I believe he would be there for her. A single mother doesn’t have that support in most cases.
I wish you all the best with everything, and hope you can get some financial support from your daughter’s father. I think you sound very brave and unselfish to facilitate the relationship between them under the circumstances.
@Boxy Lady
I agree that military parents are single parents while their spouses are deployed.
I never said I hated her. I just disagree with her on this point.

I agree that we shouldn’t split too many hairs on her comment about being like a single parent. I think that a lot of fairly privileged women with husbands who have very busy careers have a much higher parenting burden, not exactly like single mothers, but with a similar level of autonomy. Living and working in a privileged university town, I often see that it’s the wives that manage the family while their husbands do research, teach, travel (unfortunately, while there are a fair number of female professors, the system still favors males with wives who do everything domestic). Having come from humble beginnings with few resources, I really don’t think Michelle was implying that the financial and social pressures of most single mothers is the same as what she is facing.

While Michelle chose the wrong words, people are not really paying attention to her elaboration of the original statement. IMO, her single mother comment really meant at times she felt as thought she’s been “parenting” alone. Michelle is an intelligent woman, and not for one second do I believe she thinks she can truly equivocate her experiences to that of a single mother.

Look, I like her, but I’m going by what she said in the interview on this post. She could have said, “I misspoke when I referred to myself as a single mother.” She didn’t. She further explained what she meant by using that expression:

On whether her recent description of herself as “a single mother” was an acknowledgement of the pressure that comes with always making the decisions about her kids.
That’s absolutely right. When you have a husband or a partner who’s either traveling for work or has huge responsibility … and I give my husband credit—he knows who their friends are, he knows what their schedule is. But he’s not making the calls to the dance studio to figure out what classes they’re taking next year … I think it’s important for both parents to shoulder that [responsibility]. I tell my kids, “I am thinking about you every other minute of my day.”

GoodNamesAllTaken, the first part of what you posted wasn’t stated by Michelle or the interviewer. It was a CB summary/interpretation.

This: “On whether her recent description of herself as “a single mother” was an acknowledgement of the pressure that comes with always making the decisions about her kids”…didn’t come from the interview.

and a big IN YOUR FACE! to the folks that were making fun of her initiative to get and keep kids healthy. obesity is such a problem today (especially for kids) and she took such crap from people for trying to do a good thing.

My personal theory is that the “Lets Move” campaign worked – to a degree – because it did not focus on weight. Rather it focused on activity (not structured sports, but daily activity) and healthy eating.

In other words, it focused on health. The weight issue was secondary. And attacking kids for their weight is highly, highly sensitive, but focusing on health is incredibly sensible.

It was a well thought out initiative and I give Mrs. Obama and her team huge props for that.

I agree. But also, her gun show is so inspiring! It’s hard not to listen to someone who so clearly makes fitness a major part of her life without any sort of detrimental body image. She has cut arms, but she also has larger hips and a booty like a lot of women. I love that she has a fit body that isn’t super skinny and unrealistic.

I’m even guessing that Michelle isn’t making those calls either. She has a large staff and I’m sure she’s doling out the calls to others. Granted she still has to assign the tasks but she has a staff to help her be a ‘single parent’ . And her mother helps out as well. She’s getting zero sympathy from me. The benefits she gets from being FLOTUS outweigh these sorts of things.

And her husband is the freaking president of the United States, for crying out loud. I certainly hope he’s too busy to call the dance studio — the president shouldn’t have the time to be a super hands-on parent. I think it’s ridiculous that she complains about him being too busy for that stuff.

I had to laugh at this. I write down EVERYTHING in our childrens’ schedules because– if something happened to me (sick, injured or worse), he would be totally lost. Even now, when we’re out, I do things such as point out their dentist.

He works 50+ hours a week (including weekends) so he gets a pass, but he still needs to KNOW about what needs to get done.

Emmie, why do you say that? She never sacrificed her own career to get him elected, nor will she use his status to seek public office herself. She was and will again be a very high level hospital administrator.

Give me a break. This woman is not a single mother and I think it’s crazy that women who are actually single mothers aren’t insulted by her claiming that she is. There are so many married women out there who bear the majority of the responsibility when it comes to the children because the father works so much. That doesn’t make them single, it’s called a division of responsibilities. You have to call the dance studio because your husband is busy putting food on the table, that’s a perfectly normal marriage and partnership. By her argument, every woman who stays at home and takes the majority if responsibility for raising the children is a single mother.

I have been seeing married women claiming they were “single moms” all over the place lately. No. You have, at the very least, income from your husband. You don’t have to deal with organizing child support and visitation. You don’t have to deal with the stigma. You have someone to support you.

I expect the president is an extraordinarily busy man. He’s one of the few men in the country I can give a pass to for not doing half the childcare. But Michelle Obama isn’t going it alone, either. Not only is she in what seems to be a happy marriage, but she also has lots of help from the people around her. This was an ignorant comment for her to make.

People like to get up in arms about the FLOTUS’ slip of the tongue in that interview back in the Spring, but she also went on to say that even before Barack was President Obama (i.e., when she was also working full-time) it was the same way. Everybody’s talking about it being a “division of responsibility,” and how Michelle has no right to even make that slip-up comparison, but it’s interesting that when both parents work, the expectation is that most of the children’s activities responsibility fall on the mother.

To refresh some memories, FLOTUS said in that April interview, “But as a busy working mom, and before coming to the White House, I was in that position, you know, as well. Working, driving kids to practice, not having enough time to shop or cook, not having the energy, you know, the resources weren’t the issue but time and energy is key.”

That’s key. That doesn’t sound like a “division of responsibility” to me if she’s expected to work full-time outside of the home as well as inside of the home. :/

Yes. The “second shift” thing is still very real. Since she doesn’t work in that same way anymore, things have changed a bit, but there are still LOTS of women who work just as hard as their husbands and still take the major role in family affairs, and that needs to change.

I liked her bangs, but she’s right about the speeches (take note, kate middleton). As far as the “single” mom thing, I’m sure that Michelle has plenty of help and that she’s not a “single” mom in the traditional sense of the word. However, I’m sure Barack is mostly absent and that can’t be easy for their family.

I think she took a lot of flack for the childhood obesity thing, but this is a huge problem in our country and I wish people would just admit that. It is plainly awful that a child would suffer from obesity at a time when their body should be the least of their concerns.

The article cited also doesn’t say it’s because of her program, but rather a combination of three different trends, one of which her program is a part of. So to give Michelle Obama the credit for this small decline is not really fair. She’s part of the solution but certainly not the majority of the solution.

“Officials said the decline was most likely attributed to three broad trends. More fresh fruit and vegetables instead of sugar-laden juices are among the healthier foods recently mandated in federally funded maternal- and child-nutrition programs. An increase in breast-feeding, which some research associates with lower risk of obesity, and greater public awareness of health and physical fitness programs are also making a difference.”

She is not a single mom and to say so is insulting. Even if the comment were made a while ago, she should have backed up off of it in this interview and acknowledge that she misspoke. This bitch is just backing up her claim that she is a single mom. I still like her but I’m giving her the side eye :/

No no no no no no. I AM a single mother. Not a woman sitting in the White House having every single thing paid for me. I just disliked this woman but now f*ck this bitch. Looking like Baracka from Mortal Kombat trying to sound like all these idiot female celebrities with the world available to them. Oh the trails and hardships you must endure while your husband and his Wall Street buddies continue to screw up the country.

I find it odd when people take a person speaking about their own challenges, and then compare it to themselves in order to get offended. MO wasn’t saying she is worse off than typical single moms, she was just speaking about her experience.

Me too. I had been wondering if I am the only person who doesn’t do a straight literal comparison of my life to others. The issue really comes up when the subject is moms, parenting or babies. And the someone always ends feeling bad or shamed, which is ridiculous because no two lives are lived the same, backgrounds and environments are different.

I think people are being too literal when they read her comments. What is inferred is that in a relationship where the expe tation is a partnership, especially with the kids, she is feeling single.

For all the single moms out there “rock on.” It’s not easy but I am sure you are holding it down tbe best way you can and know how to do.

For her to even mention say she has anything NEAR a single mom type life is just flat out insulting. There are thousands of single mothers, much much more, who have to work, pay their own bills, raise their kids, and worry every day that they’ll have enough money to spurge on an outfit. Her husband has pushed the economy in an even worse state and she seriously has the audacity to even try to ‘reach out’ to the community that does everything on their own? Pffft. It’s the same way January Jones tried to say she was like all the other single moms out there. None of them know the actual struggle and it just makes them look like absolute delusional idiots- all of the celebrities who claim this.

I think the single mom comments are a reflection of her still struggling with being the unequal partner in their union. She was once his boss and now she’s a housewife. Obviously she is very supportive of his role in this historical presidency, but it must be a hard adjustment with some emotional impact on her.

Obviously, I’m no single mother, so don’t flame me, but what I think is interesting about that comment is that she assumes that dads calling the dance studio SHOULD be a part of normal two-part parenting. Think about that as a mindset shift.

I think they are married on paper only at this point, for the sake of his career as POTUS, and she cant simply scream that from the rooftops because she does love the father of her children and a separation while he is in office would ruin him.

Her single mother remark was a glaring slip of the tongue, nothing more. It really stuck me how un-enthused she was the night Obama was re-elected. She seemed happy for him, but emotionally checked out. He tried to hold her hand several times, and she promptly let go as soon as the opportunity presented itself. It was very showy and forced, and it broke my heart to see it. Anyone who doubts it should go back and watch. I googled not long after, and found that she’d described herself as a single mother. This pretty much confirmed it for me. Even if you’re doing most of the work, because your husband is the president, you don’t misuse a word like single when youve been married that long. We all know what single means – we know it and she knows it.

I know how she has tried to re-frame what she meant, but it doesn’t make sense, sorry, and I dont think she’d be that insensitive to single mothers unless admitting to the alternative is worse.

I believe she is a ‘single’ mother and she is not in a relationship with Barack any longer — I think the end of their romantic relationship was some time during his first term, and once he is out of office, the end of their contractual marriage will follow.

ITA – It’s code. She is a politician, as much as her husband. She made that statement for a reason. I believe you are right about their marriage. And because she is a savvy politician, she said 2 things in this interview to prepare for her future. This was one. The other was “no”. She has positioned herself since the inauguration to run for some kind of office. The makeover, the softer look, is part of it, like appearing on the Academy Awards, like making rap music. She’s gearing up for some kind of powerful position. The President will probably be happy to play golf for the rest of his life. She’s too ambitious to retire. Time will tell.

LMAO “married on paper only” mmmkay. If that gives you trhe warm fuzzies. You picked election night to say heres the evidence…..why dont you ALSO pick the DC convention night when MO gave her speech. If ever you wanted to see a woman in love with her husband, go have a look. And btw, compare it to romney’s wife’s speech at their convention. LOL

BS. My cousin is completely devoted to and in love with her husband. She also likens herself to a single mother because he works so much at his high-powered job that he is never home and nearly all the parenting is done by her. You are reading way too much into this.

My mom was married, but she made the decisions regarding my education and health. My dad was basically along for the ride. So, I do understand what Mrs. Obama is saying. No slight intended to true single parents, though I’m sure some will be offended.

A single mother? Ha. I’m a single mother. When Michelle has to start worrying about financially supporting her kids alone in addition to doing everything herself maybe she will get a taste of how hard it is – but to think she has it tough now?! Please!

I was a single mother, then an army wife. When my husband was deployed to a war zone, I felt the emotional support the few times we could connect (I think single mothers have it harder in a lot of ways). I oft thought of the army wives many years before me whose husbands would leave for war and they would go months without a word of their health or safety. I can’t stand MO or her husband but the dog is pretty cute.

I am not a fan of the Obama’s politics, including Michelle, but on a personal level she’s quite lovely and I desperately envy her arms. You can tell she is level-headed and, in terms of parenting, both she and her husband are quite traditional. Their girls are utterly adorable. I think they do a great job, all things considered, at normalizing things for the girls (who no doubt will turn out great). Outside of my disagreement with her on policy positions (which is just a matter of perspective anyway), I really admire Michelle. She has been a very successful First Lady and role model.

I get what she’s saying. When my parents were married, my dad was always traveling for work. He was rarely ever home, so it was my mom who made most or all of the decisions and took on the child-rearing duties. This was while she had a full-time job too. Yes, my mom had my dad’s income to rely on and ultimately he was home eventually (maybe one week every two months)… but to wave away how hard it was for her is to discredit what so many women go through. The division of responsibilities, for most people, continues to be unequal. Why does it always fall on the woman? My mom really struggled, and she felt so alone through it all. She was always the one who was expected to stay home if my brother or I got sick, and if she ever managed to come to any school-related event or PTA meeting (rare)– she had to come alone.

I believe that while yes, the Obamas have staff to support them, Michelle is a hands-on parent.

Actually I would really like to read an autobiography about Michelle. I think she has been through alot just like Obama to get where she is but I wish she was more friendly towards Oprah if the rumour is true.

I think people are being a little too uptight about her just expressing her feelings and I suspect that part of it is because SOME people (cough, cough: disgruntled conservatives) are allowing their political sides to influence their opinion

Though I didn’t vote for her I do respect her ‘single mom’ comment even though she might have chosen the wrong words to describe her situation. Reggie Love just admitted he spends more time playing cards and golfing with the Pres than probably MO spends with her husband. I think she feels abandoned and very unloved by the Pres and the only words she could find to describe that was ‘single mom’. I am trying to figure out a more appropriate term for her situation but can’t at the moment. Maybe she should just have said I feel very alone.

then why did Obama hire the lawyer for Monsanto as the head of the FDA? Gmo foods, genetically modified sugar beets, soy, corn, etc, that all contributes and causes obesity. The health of every american is determined by the zip code, and if only crap food is available, then there is poor health, obesity diabetes etc.

If she wanted to make a statement the Obamas wouldnt tolerate the Monsanto employees regulating the Food and Drug Admin.